Katelyn

I debated for a long time what I wanted to do for this assignments. It was tempting to tear apart some Dickens or Whitman, but instead I ended up doing some poetry. (It was pretty much a done deal when I found a poem written by Bukowski about my old poetry Prof. Diane Wakoski. Love.)

The first poem I used was ‘a sickness?’ by Bukowski. Of course at least one of the poems had to be written by him. I love this one because I understand where he’s coming from. I’m accused all the time of romanticizing things that I probably shouldn’t. (Like I said in the assignment, my ‘about me’ on Facebook is taken directly from this poem.) While his list of people isn’t exactly the same as the ones I would pick, it’s close enough to have me beyond jealous that he wrote it first. (And better than I ever could, but I try to ignore that.)

The second poem I used was ‘Red Bandana’ by Wakoski. This one was a little harder for me to pick, but I love the imagery she uses in it, and the ties to the old west. It’s a little (a lot) different reading the poems of someone you know who’s been published. After having her rip apart my poems in class, I can’t help but look at the poem how I think she would. I look for the trope, and make sure all the references are tied together. (Of course they are.) I think the neatest thing about her poetry is the way she’s able to create so much emotion through her images, instead of simply spelling it out for the reader. After taking her class, I definitely look at poems in a different way than I used to.

Last was Bukowski’s poem to Wakoski, titled ‘to a lady of posey’ from 'What Matters Most is How Well You Walk Through the Fire.' Not only do I like the poem, but it gives me an odd feeling of closeness to Bukowski because he’s written about someone I actually know. Since, like Bukowski, I’m a bit of a ‘hero worshiper’ this is pretty fucking awesome. (They actually both have the same publisher...) I just wish I’d gotten to see the look on Wakoski’s face when she read it (in her turtleneck sweater with her big round, Harry Potter glasses....)